RELAXER (Explicit)

7digitalWhat we said:Three albums in and it’s business as usual for former Mercury Prize-winners Alt-J, by which we mean they’re as intriguingly indefinable as ever. Contrary to its laid-back title, Relaxer is the product of a range of labour-intensive creative processes including recording battalions of classical guitarists plucking the same melody simultaneously, and sourcing homemade field recordings capturing the crackle of campfires. Musically, it feels like a more adventurous set than This Is All Yours, exploring twisted surf-rock on ‘Hit Me Like That Snare’ and unleashing cacophonous hip hop beats during ‘Deadcrush’. But for all its variety, it’s Relaxer’s more subdued moments that really shine, be that the folky simplicity of ‘Last Year’ or the serene, string-embellished ‘Adeline’.